BISMARCK, N.D. — MDU Resources Group Inc. has laid off seven employees in its Bismarck corporate office after the sale of its oil company. MDU, a diversified natural resource company traded on the New York Stock Exchange, announced the sale of its Fidelity Exploration and Production properties in November to generate capital to fund investments at its other subsidiaries. The ...

The Western states’ battle over royalties that companies pay for coal, oil and gas taken from public lands spilled into Congress on Tuesday, where lawmakers and witnesses from Montana and Wyoming squared off. Former Montana Department of Revenue Director Dan Bucks told the House Natural Resources Committee that more needed to be done to ensure the public was getting its ...

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Oilfield services company Schlumberger has donated $172 million worth of software to the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology to strengthen the school’s energy resources initiative. The Houston-based company provides technology and other support services for the oil and gas industry in areas such as western North Dakota’s oil patch. School officials say the software ...

OMAHA, Neb. — A judge has thrown out a lawsuit challenging a Nebraska law that allowed the Nebraska governor to approve the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline route through the state. Holt County District Judge Mark Kozisek tossed the lawsuit on Friday, agreeing with the pipeline company’s argument that the issue was rendered moot by TransCanada’s decision to abandon plans ...

MINOT, N.D. — Minot’s Planning Commission is recommending that a permit for home day cares be required only for the largest operations. The city passed a zoning ordinance change in 2013 to require home day cares with more than 14 children to obtain a $250 permit and pay up to $1,250 in city costs. Ward County Social Services began notifying ...

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem (STEHN’-juhm) says $1.5 million is available for groups providing services relating to human trafficking. The money was authorized by the 2015 Legislature as part of a comprehensive package of bills to address human trafficking in North Dakota. In addition to organizations already providing prevention and treatment services to victims, the grants ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. wholesale inventories fell in October as businesses stepped up efforts to reduce stockpiles of unsold merchandise, suggesting inventories would again be a drag on growth in the fourth quarter. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday wholesale inventories slipped 0.1 percent as stocks of both durable and nondurable goods fell. September inventories were revised down to show ...

FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota House Speaker Wes Belter won’t seek re-election when his term is up next year. He tells KFGO-AM that the timing is right and he wants to spend more time with his grandchildren and friends. The Republican lawmaker from Fargo was first elected to the Legislature in 1984. The 70-year-old Belter says his wife is doing ...

BISMARCK, N.D. — Faced with an expected spike in unemployment claims due largely to a slowdown of oil drilling, North Dakota’s employment agency on Tuesday made an emergency request of $240,000 to maintain staffing through January, the agency’s busiest month. Cheri Giesen, who heads Job Service North Dakota, which administers state unemployment benefits and workforce training programs, told the state ...

MINOT, N.D. — The fatal shooting of a 30-year-old Minot man was gang-related and further violence is possible in retaliation for the killing, police said. Capt. John Klug said Sunday’s fatal shooting shows that the victim, Roger Falana, has ties to a gang in Florida and the suspect in the case, Johnny Norwood, 25, is associated with a gang in ...

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